


Meet the Wilders ( McDanno's Twins // Season 1, Episode 1)

by OTP_Obsessed



Series: Hawaii Five-O: 'At-Home' Mini-Series (McDanno's Twins) [1]
Category: Hawaii (TV), Hawaii Five-0 (2010), McDanno - Fandom, McDanno-Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Daddy Steve, Danny's children mentioned, Emotional, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy little family, Heavy - Freeform, Idiots in Love, Long Shot, Love, M/M, Romance, Same-Sex Marriage, Schmoop, Series, Sweet, THIS IS MY SERIES, introducing twins, mcdanno, they notice too much about each other, too cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:15:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25305121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OTP_Obsessed/pseuds/OTP_Obsessed
Summary: When a homicide takes the life of an innocent father, Five-O must break the news to his dying wife, who voices her concern about the future of their three-year-old twins. Newlyweds Steve and Danny make her a promise to do everything they can to protect the twins and find the person that killed their father.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: Hawaii Five-O: 'At-Home' Mini-Series (McDanno's Twins) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1841155
Comments: 6
Kudos: 81





	Meet the Wilders ( McDanno's Twins // Season 1, Episode 1)

**Author's Note:**

> The order of these stories may be changing. I've had some new ideas pop into my head recently while writing this introduction fanfic and it may mess up the order in which my previous stories are numbered. So, don't be alarmed if you see a number change or disappear. The stories will remain, even if their number in the series changes. If you see a number missing from the series, it means there is a story in the works that will be coming in between the previously written stories! So keep your eyes open for more! :-)
> 
> Also, sorry this is quite long. There's a lot of detail. But, I hope you enjoy it anyway and I look forward to hearing what you think!
> 
> NOTICE: * Per some wonderful feedback from some very avid readers, this story received a do-over. The majority of its content remained. But please note that an EDIT did take place that made some major changes.*

JULY

Danny awoke to the warm rays of sunshine falling through the window curtain. Normally, their flares would immediately put him in a bad mood. But he refused to let anything bother him today. After all, there was too much to celebrate, today, to let a few little sun flares destroy his mood. He smiled, delightfully, and sent a stretch through his whole body. When he reached out his arm, his hand hit something beside him. Danny turned and caressed the sleeping Steve's chest with an open hand, cuddling up beside him. They'd been sharing this bed for the last 5 years but only the last 2 had given Danny a whole new perspective on the world. For a moment, he admired the edges and curves of Steve's face and smiled, placidly, at the way their rings glistened in the sun's rays. He pressed a gentle kiss to Steve's shoulder, then, sat up on the side of the bed, sliding on a pair of sweatpants, from the floor.

"Going somewhere?" a groggy voice asked behind him.

Danny looked up and smiled. He turned back towards Steve, who's open arms were now calling to him, and rolled his eyes. "I was going to take a shower."

Steve reached out and pulled Danny back to him. Danny resisted, at first, then, chuckling softly, fell back towards Steve. He rolled over and faced Steve, pressing their noses together, and wrapping his arms around Steve's neck. "I don't think so," Steve mumbled, pressing a smiling kiss to Danny's lips. "Not today."

"Oh, no?" Danny asked, chucking through his kisses. "So what do you expect me to do? Lie here in bed with you all day?"

Steve stretched, wrapped his arms around Danny's back, and sighed. "Well, considering it is not only our day off but also our two-year anniversary, I would expect nothing less."

Danny smiled and resumed his kisses. Steve rose from the pillow and, gingerly, slid his hands from Danny's back to behind Danny's hand. Both of them pulled each other close. When they broke for air, they stared into each other's eyes for a moment. Then, their kisses began again and faded into soft moans, as Steve flipped Danny over, taking the position on top. Danny rested back against the pillow, letting Steve kiss his way around Danny's neck. Danny let out a soft, pleasurable gasp, feeling Steve lightly press his teeth into the spot where his neck met his shoulder. The pair linked their hands together, as Steve gave millions of kisses down and around Danny's torso. Danny's body trembled, sensing the gentle touch of Steve's lips along his v-line. "I--I'm vibrating," he stuttered, arousingly.

Steve chuckled, taking the band of Danny's sweatpants in his grasp. "Me too," he replied, continuing to press kisses along Danny's v-line.

"No, I mean I'm actually buzzing," Danny sighed, dejected. Steve halted his kisses and looked up to find Danny feeling around the bed for something.

Finally, the loud buzzing, muffled underneath the duvet, became clearer to Steve and he gave a matching dejected sigh, scooting back up to rest his head on Danny's chest. Danny finally discovered the source of the buzzing and pulled it out from under the blankets. He frowned and caressed the back of Steve's shoulder, apologetically, placing the phone to his ear. "Detective Williams," he answered through a dispirited exhale. After a moment, he nodded and held out the phone to Steve, "It's for you, Babe."

Steve took the phone and answered, "McGarrett?" Waiting for answers, Danny kissed the top of Steve's head, burying his nose in Steve's brunette locks, and ran his fingertips, gently, along Steve's bareback. Then, Steve said, "Yeah, we're on our way" and hung up the phone. The sudden shift in his tone told Danny their celebration was going to have to wait. And it was confirmed when Steve looked to him with sorrowful eyes. "We caught a homicide," Steve informed, discouragingly.

"Well, there's always next year," Danny sighed, trying to comfort him about the interruption of their plans.

Steve gave Danny a thankful smile and said, "I wouldn't count on it, Babe," before pressing one final kiss to Danny's waiting lips.

************

A little while later, Steve and Danny pulled up outside the Luau Motel, where a fleet of HPD cruisers was already surrounding the building. The rest of Five-0 had already arrived and were mid-investigation when Danny and Steve exited the Camaro. The partners were nearly attached at the hip, as they met up with the rest of their team. "Sorry to have to call you two lovebirds out today," Grover greeted, playfully.

"You're funny," Steve smiled with all his teeth. "Care to fill us in?"

"So far, everything points to homicide. Two VICS, discovered this morning by the owner," Grover nodded, leading Steve and Danny towards the scene. The three ducked under the tape and entered the motel room. "There's no sign of forced entry but it does look as though there was some kind of a struggle." Steve knelt down to inspect the body on the floor, while Grover continued giving the run-down to Danny. "Victim one, female, about 19, she was found tied to the bed, half-naked; COD looks to be she was strangled. Victim two, male, about 45. COD, one stab wound to the neck."

"Wait, our male VIC is wearing a motel uniform. Do we have an ID?" Danny quizzed, looking to Chin for answers.

Kono joined them, carrying a digital pad. "I think I can help with that," she informed, typing away at the screen. She stopped and smiled at Danny, "Happy anniversary by the way. Sorry, you had to spend it looking at dead bodies."

"Comes with the job," Danny shrugged with a thankful smile. "Did you ID our VICs?"

"Both actually," Kono nodded, typing back on the pad. "Female is Sarah Miller, 19, employed with Winola Valley Strip Club. She's in the system for minor solicitation charges. Our male VIC is Marcus Wilder, 43, he doesn't have a record but he is employed as an overnight housekeeper here at Luau."

"So, if he doesn't have a record, why is he in the system?" Chin quizzed, reading over Kono's shoulder.

Steve stood back up to their level, holding a wallet in his now-gloved hands. "Because Marcus was also local EMS," Steve sighed, reveling the contents of the wallet to his team. The team all gave each other looks of disappointment. "All EMS have to have their background and DNA go through the system before they're certified."

Kono typed into the pad and nodded. "Steve's right. Marcus was certified as a paramedic ten years ago. Looks like he took this job at Luau two months ago."

"So, Marcus works his shift last night and enters the room to clean," Danny sighs, dejected, gesturing to the bodies. "He finds Sarah, strangled, and his EMS instincts kick in, so he goes to help her and cut her loose."

"But the killer must have still been in the room and overheard Marcus trying to cut Sarah loose and panicked that he'd call for help," Kono continued, scoping out the scene.

"That explains why the tape on her wrists is only cut half-way," Steve nodded, aside. "Marcus must have stopped when he heard our killer come out of the bathroom."

"So, then, Marcus sees our guy and tells him that he's EMS. But our killer panics and puts up a fight instead. He goes for the knife and Marcus tries to get it away from him, but our killer's too fast and stabs him in the neck, instead," Grover sighed, depressingly, as he finished putting the pieces together.

"So, all this was just a crime of passion? And Marcus was just as innocent as Sarah in all this?" Kono asked, clearly heartbroken.

"I'm afraid so," Steve frowned, exiting the motel. He shuffled through the rest of Marcus' wallet, trying to make some sense as to why an employed EMT would need to be a housekeeper. He riffled through the few bills inside the fold and fiddled through the stack of cards. He flipped over to the plastic sheets and felt his heart start racing when he saw a picture of Marcus' family stuck inside. It was of him, his two-year-old's--a set of red-headed twins--and his wife, who had a purple scarf where her hair should be. Steve stared at the picture, longingly, caressing it gently between his fingers, finally understanding why Marcus had taken this job.

Steve only looked up from the picture when he heard Kono call out behind him. "Hey, guys...take a look at that kid over there..." she asked, gesturing to a guy behind the police tape. The man was hidden among the crowd of peeping eyes and seemed a lot more anxious than the others.

"It's ninety-five degrees out today. Isn't that a bit hot to be dressed like that?" Chin asked, inspecting the kid from afar.

Steve looked towards the crowd of people and spotted the suspicious character. He stuffed Marcus' wallet into his pants pocket and moved, slowly, toward the crowd of onlookers. For a moment, Steve eyed the kid, as he paced nervously, biting the nails of his trembling hands.

Chin was right. The kid's outfit was out of place. Instead of bathing suits and booty shorts, like the rest of the crowd, this kid wore a black hoodie and jeans. Upon closer inspection, Steve also noticed dried blood on the kid's hands, which he was desperately trying to cover up with the sleeves of his hoodie. Steve scoffed, amused that this kid would return to the scene of his crime with all these cops around. But it was also clear that he was no more than 17 and, by the darting behavior of his eyes and head, it was obvious he knew that he had messed up. Steve almost felt bad that he was going to have to go after this kid because it was obvious that he had never done something like this before. But, unfortunately, he did murder two innocent people--even if they were accidents--and Steve wasn't going to let him get away with his actions, just because it was his first offense.

Steve stopped, put his hands on his hips, and whistled through his teeth. The suspicious kid jerked his head toward the sound and Steve could hear the uneasiness on his face grow louder. Steve nodded at him and called across the parking lot, "Hey, buddy, can I talk to you for a second?"

For a brief moment, the kid's face went pale, having been caught. Then, he, quickly, checked his surroundings before shoving his way through the crowd, booking it down the street. And without hesitation, Steve raced after him. "I'll take that as a 'no'," Danny sighed, aside, rolling his eyes. He moved towards the crowd, slowly increasing his speed to chase after Steve.

The rest of the team followed Danny's actions and chased the kid down. Eventually, they were able to corner him in a back alley. As the rest of the team lagged behind, Steve kicked into SEAL-mode, pulling out all the stunts. Finally catching up to him, Steve jumped from the top of a dumpster and tackled the kid to the ground, shoving his right shoulder against the pavement. The suspect let out an ear-splitting scream as his shoulder left its socket. Steve held the kid on the ground and forced his arms behind his back. "Don't run next time," Steve demanded, loudly, zip-tying the kid's wrists together. They stood up and Steve patted the kid's left shoulder, causing him to wince in pain. "It'll stop hurting when they force it back in place," Steve informed, nonchalantly.

The rest of the team arrived, just as Steve was reading the kid his rights. Steve met their eyes and smiled, shoving the suspect toward them. The team shook their heads and chuckled at Steve, in amazement. All except for Danny, who gestured to him, confused. "Was the tackle really necessary, Babe?" he asked, taking the guy from Steve.

"Book 'em, Danno," Steve smirked, patting Danny on the butt.

**********

A short time later, Steve and Danny pulled up outside the address listed on Marcus' ID and put the car in park. They were able to see Marcus' wife, through the window, doing housework and hesitated to get out. "Do we have to tell her?" Danny asked, softly, leaning his head back against the headrest.

"It's either us or HPD," Steve sighed, patting Danny's leg, comfortingly.

"But this is just so...I mean, that guy he..." Danny shook his head, frustrated, and sighed, looking out the car window, watching Marcus' wife.

Steve leaned across the seat and caressed Danny's face. "Just be happy we caught the guy and he won't get to hurt anyone else's family," he said, softly, looking deeply into Danny's eyes.

Danny nodded, regretfully, as Steve pressed a kiss to his temple.

The pair walked quietly to the front door of the house and stopped on the front porch. Danny went to knock but hesitated and pulled back his fist when he heard Marcus' wife call out to her children on the other side of the door. Danny turned away and gestured for Steve to knock instead. Steve also hesitated for a moment, in concern for Danny, then, finally knocked on the door. His heart dropped, hearing Marcus' wife call out to them, knowing there was no turning back. The knob turned and the door opened, revealing a smiling woman, no more than 30. It was clear she took care of her appearance, regardless of the fact that she had to hide the fact that cancer had taken her hair under a green head wrap. She leaned against the door and greeted them. "Can I help you?"

"Excuse me. We're looking for a Tina Wilder?" Steve asked, gently.

Tina nodded. "That's me. What can I do for you?"

Steve tried to hide his frown from her as he nodded and said, "Mrs. Wilder, my name is Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, this is my partner Danny Williams. We're with the Five-0 task force."

"Five-0?" Tina asked, urgently, standing at attention. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid so, ma'am," Steve nodded, clearing his throat softly. He felt Danny rub his lower back, briefly, as he turned back to face the house. He could read Danny's broken heart through his eyes and knew that his partner didn't want him to break the news. But, as much as this hurt him, Steve knew it had to be done. He took a second to let his eyes meet his partner's and, secretively, locked Danny's fingertips with his, for support. Steve sighed and looked back to Tina, frowning. "We're deeply sorry to be the ones to bring you this news, ma'am, but your husband, Marcus...we recently found his body during a homicide investigation."

Tina's eyes widened. "What?" she scoffed, shaking her head. "That can't be. Marcus, he can't...there's no way he..." Then she broke down, burying her face into her hands, finally comprehending what she just heard and fled inside, leaving the door open behind her.

Steve squeezed Danny's hand, feeling him start to leave the porch. Danny stayed beside Steve, reluctantly. Steve caressed the side of Danny's hand with his thumb, letting his partner know he understood his intentions. Then, dragged Danny along, behind him, as he stepped over the threshold. As they walked into the house, Danny stayed close to Steve's side. He had done hundreds of these house calls but this one gave him an uneasy feeling he'd never felt before. These things were never easy to do but, he'd never felt like throwing up before. When they got to the living room, Tina was in a fetal position on the couch, staring longingly out the window. The two red-headed twins from the picture were in the corner of the room, playing together in a pile of toys.

Danny's heart melted, instantly, upon seeing the twin's faces. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because their mother was sick and they just lost their father? Or maybe it was because they were so small and innocent, they needed to be shielded from all the madness in the world? Whatever the reason; Danny was sure he needed to protect these two, no matter what the cost. He pulled away from Steve and sat down on the floor, crisscrossed. He greeted the twins, sweetly, and felt a warmth overcome him as they, hesitantly, smiled up at him.

Steve smirked at Danny, happy to see him comfortable for the first time since they pulled up to the house. Then, he took a seat on the couch across from Tina. "I'm really sorry for your loss, Mrs. Wilder," he said, softly.

"Please, call me Tina," she said, giving Steve a weakened smile. She pressed a shaking finger to her mouth, then, fiddled with her tissue for a moment, trying to compose herself. Then, she took a deep, shaky breath and turned to Steve. "What, uh. Can you tell me what happened to him?" she asked, drying the tears from her cheeks.

"We believe your husband was killed trying to save another victim," Steve informed. "We have the man who killed your husband in custody. He told us that he overheard your husband trying to save our other victim and panicked. Your husband tried to get an explanation out of him but the killer put up a fight and, in the midst of their struggle, he got ahold of a knife that he...uh..." Steve stopped and looked up to Tina, her swollen eyes taking his words away.

"Did...did he stuffer? Did Marcus suffer?" Tina asked, swallowing her tears.

Steve hesitated for a brief moment, then, said, "No, ma'am. The impact was instant." He could feel Danny's eyes glaring at the back of his head, for lying to Tina, but chose to ignore them for now and just discuss it later, for the sake of everyone's sanity.

Tina closed her eyes and shook her head. "I told Marcus not to take that job," she cried, softly, pressing a finger to her lips. Steve looked to her, confused. Tina chuckled, through her tears, and explained, "He took that job at the motel as a second job because I've been in and out of treatments for the last six months."

"If it's not too much, how long have you been sick?" Steve asked.

"Feels like forever now," Tina shrugged, stiffly. "Just after I had the twins, we found out I had stage three leukemia. We started treatments and, after two years of fighting this, we thought we were in the clear. But, three weeks ago, things got worse." She looked back out the window again, trying to make some sense of the world.

"How long?" Steve asked, mournfully.

Tina's voice broke, holding back her tears, "They say that if I keep up with treatments, I should have another four months, if I'm lucky."

Steve's looked back at Danny, who was still playing house with the twins. Danny looked to Steve, after overhearing Tina's diagnosis, then to the twins, then back to Steve with wondering eyes. Steve turned back to Tina and frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said, regretfully, knowing that was probably the last thing she wanted to hear right now.

Tina gave him a thankful nod anyway and then spoke, softly, "I told him we could ask my mother to help with the extra expenses but Marcus refused. He said we could figure it out without her help."

"Why was Marcus so against getting help from your mother?" Steve quizzed.

"Because my mother hates him," Tina said, bluntly. "My mother has been wealthy her whole life and always wanted me to be just like her. She refused to see me throw my life away on someone like Marcus. She tried to talk me out of marrying him and didn't even come to our wedding. She stopped talking to me when she found out I was pregnant and refused to meet her grandkids." She stopped and shook her head, trying to contain her frustrations. She swallowed hard and licked her lips, then, continued, "When she heard I had cancer, she called out of the blue with some sob story about how she wanted back in our lives. She said she was sorry and that she wanted to make up for the lost time."

"So what happened?"

"We told her that she was two years too late," Tina shrugged, turning towards Steve. She looked around the room for a moment and sighed. "And don't get me wrong, she was. I won't ever forgive how she treated me. But if taking money from her meant Marcus being home with me, I was willing to take it. But Marcus refused and we even decided to take her out of both our wills. It was the only way to insure that she couldn't try to be in the children's life if something happened to me. But now..." She stopped and looked down at the twins. Her eyes swelled up and she covered her face with her hand, turning away from Steve.

"...without Marcus, when they lose you, the twins will go into the system," Steve sighed, breathlessly, putting the pieces together. He lowered his head, slightly, and turned back towards Danny. They shared a sorrowful gaze for a moment. And he only turned back toward Tina when she started speaking again.

"I just wish there was a way I was sure they would always be together after I'm gone," she sighed, deeply, leaning back against the couch, keeping her eyes locked on her babies. Steve could tell she wanted to cry from the pout of her bottom lip, but, from the blinding sheen still present on her cheeks, he knew her eyes had no tears left.

Steve squinted his face in concern, watching Tina turn back towards the window, hiding her sulk behind her hand. Steve frowned and turned his head around to Danny, once more, and they met each other's eyes. This time, however, Steve could tell Danny had something new on his mind. And, as he finally got a good look at the twins' faces, and felt his heart start sprinting at the way Danny played house with them, he hoped that whatever Danny was thinking was the same thing that was running through his own mind.

*************

As Steve drove them home, the ride was quieter than usual. He had expected Danny to start in on one of their famous 'carguments' but, instead, he just stared longingly out the passenger window. Steve gripped the wheel, hard, trying to keep his focus on the road, but there was nothing he could do to stop his watchful eyes from darting back to Danny every few seconds. He gripped the wheel tighter, trying to pull his focus in, and sighed, softly.

Danny overheard this and turned towards Steve, discovering his strain. Danny didn't want to start a 'cargument.' All he could think about was those twins and how they deserved so much love. But he hated seeing Steve so worked up. And, since Steve was too proud of how he'd handled things with Tina, there was no way their minds were on the same page. Danny looked back out the window, briefly, then back to Steve and frowned. "Why did you lie to her back there?" he asked, softly, breaking the silence.

Steve wrinkled his brow. "What are you talking about? I didn't lie to her."

"Uh, yes, yes you did," Danny nodded, firmly. "You told her that Marcus didn't suffer. But we know from Max's report that it took seven minutes for Marcus to completely bleed out. Why did you tell her that the impact was instant? Why not just tell her the truth?"

"Because she didn't need to hear it, Danny," Steve sighed, deeply. He scoffed out his nose, shaking his head, then, continued. "She found out she's got months to live, and her only remaining family cares more about the value of a dollar and material items than being together. And now her husband was killed because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, all because he was trying to provide for their family. I lied because she needed some good news."

"Good news?" Danny scoffed, a bit offended. "Her husband was murdered, Steve. There's no way you can make good news out of that."

"What if it was me?" Steve asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"What are you talking about?"

"What if I was the one that was killed and someone came to tell you about it?" Steve asked, turning to face Danny as he pulled up to a stoplight. "Would you rather have them tell you I was bleeding out, alone for seven minutes, or that I died instantly?"

"That's different," Danny sighed, uncomfortably, trying to avoid the question.

"No, it's not," Steve chuckled. "Because I know which one I would want to hear, even if it was a lie. So, if it was me that was killed, which would you rather hear?"

"Neither" Danny whispered, closing his eyes, and turning away from Steve. He felt his eyes swell up and his hands turn to fists. The idea of receiving a house-call about Steve being killed built a lump in his throat that made it almost impossible for him to breathe. He didn't even want to think about that and was furious that Steve had even asked him to choose Of course he couldn't choose. When it came to Steve, he would not be able to handle the truth or a lie. Any news about not having Steve around anymore would destroy him. But he was angriest at himself for even bringing up the conversation in the first place and hoped that Steve would just drop it.

"What was that?" Steve asked, playfully.

"Neither!" Danny roared, turning back to face Steve. "If this were about you, I wouldn't be able to handle the truth or lie, okay?!"

Danny's swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks startled Steve. He thought they were only thinking in the theoretical and hadn't realized how worked up he had made his partner. As the light turned green, Steve, slowly, started down the road again and frowned. "I'm sorry, Danny," he said, softly, placing a comforting hand on Danny's thigh. "I knew this case hit you differently than the others. I guess I just hadn't realized how much."

"It's okay," Danny nodded, placing his hand on top of Steve's. "I guess I just never thought you could ever even imagine the world without me."

"I can't," Steve admitted with a smile. He pulled the car into the driveway and parked. Then, he turned to Danny and gazed deeply into his eyes. "And, if, for some unfortunate reason, anyone ever had to come to me with news that you had been killed, you know it would tear me to shreds." He caressed Danny's face and pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes. "But, I do know that, as much as it would hurt and as much as I would never recover from you being taken from me, I would much rather hear them tell me a little white lie about you dying instantly, rather than hearing you laid there alone, consciously dying, for a whole seven minutes. That thought hurts even more than the thought of losing you."

"I guess when you put it that way, the first option does sound better," Danny sighed, softly. Steve pressed a kiss to Danny's lips and the two kept their heads together, in silence, for a long while. Then, Danny opened his eyes and said, "I love you."

"I know," Steve replied, playfully.

Danny pulled his head away, a bit disappointed. "That's not what you're supposed to say, Steven. When someone says, 'I love you,' you're supposed to say it back."

Steve nodded, apologetically, linking their hands together. "Sorry, Danno. Say it again?"

Danny sighed. Then, looked into Steve's eyes and repeated, "I love you."

"It back," Steve smiled smugly.

Danny rolled his eyes, "You are unbelievable!" and pulled his hands away from Steve.

Steve raised his hands in defense. "What?! You said that when someone says I love you, you're supposed to say, 'It back,' right?" Danny scoffed and threw his hands up, storming out of the car. Steve smirked, playfully, for a moment. Then, got out of the car and called out to his partner. "Danny?! Come on. It was a joke. Danny!" He chuckled to himself, shutting the car door, knowing that Danny would not stay mad at him forever. And, when he finally caught up to Danny at the front door and gave him an apologetic kiss, he reminded Danny that there was no one in the world that meant anything more to him with a soft, "I love you, too, Danny."

Danny hesitantly smiled, and shared another kiss with Steve on the front step.

************

TWO WEEKS LATER

Danny was in his office, finishing up some current case files on his computer, when he spotted someone entering HQ out of the corner of his eye. He looked up from his work and spotted Tina and the twins being led to Steve's office by Duke. Steve stood from his desk, as surprised as Danny was by their presence in the office, and greeted each of them, individually. Danny stopped his work and leaned back in his chair, turning his full attention towards Steve's office. He watched, curiously, as Steve offered the family a seat on his office couch and returned to his desk. Danny tried to make out what they were saying but he was never good at reading lips. Tina said something to Steve, then, Steve held up a finger to her, pausing her conversation. Then, he looked out his office window and gestured for Danny to join them. Danny was caught off-guard and pointed at himself, "Me?"

Steve rolled his eyes, playfully, and chuckled, nodding his head. He gestured again, more urgently this time, and Danny shut his laptop before making his way to Steve's office. When he reached the door, he let himself in without even knocking—they were married after all—and poked his head inside. He greeted Tina with a smile then, turned to Steve and asked, "Am I in trouble?"

"Would you just come in?" Steve chuckled, gesturing to the empty chair. Danny nodded and came inside. He sat down in the chair, timidly, locking his eyes on the twins snuggled up beside Tina. He tried greeting them with the same smile from two weeks before. But this time they weren't so keen on his presence and avoided meeting his eyes. Danny adjusted in his seat, trying to hide his disappointment from both Tina and Steve, and turned his attention back to the adults in the room. "Now Tina," Steve continued, gesturing towards Tina, "you were saying that you needed to see us about something important?" Tina nodded and reached into her purse. Steve and Danny looked to each other, confused, while she ruffled through the items inside. Then, she pulled out a folded piece of paper and set her purse on the floor. She smiled and handed the paper to Danny. He took the paper from her and unfolded it to read. Soon after, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped. Speechless, he held out the paper to Steve. Steve took the paper from Danny, reluctantly, and read it. He raised his eyebrows and turned to Tina. "These are Form-130Bs. Aren't these adoption papers?" he said, confused.

"That's right," Tina smiled.

"I think my partner forgot to ask the more important question which is, what do these have to do with us?" Danny interjected.

"I would like to ask if you two would adopt Bailey and Colton after I'm gone?" Tina replied. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her thighs, looking to the men for a reply.

Danny and Steve reflected on this together, completely speechless. Of course, they would take these twins. But why had she picked them? After a moment of a silent debate shared between them, Steve turned to Tina and cleared his throat. "How, uh, how do you know that we're even married?" he asked, trying to stall.

"Please," Tina smirked, doubtlessly, leaning back on the couch, "the word 'partner' clearly holds a deeper meaning between you two." Steve and Danny looked to each other and shared in a chuckle. Then, Tina gestured her head at Danny. "You have kids, already, don't you?"

"Yeah, two, actually," Danny chuckled, loosening up. "Was it that obvious?"

"I haven't known guys to be that comfortable around kids unless they have some of their own already," Tina shrugged. Danny looked to Steve for advice. Steve shrugged, in agreement with Tina. They both turned back when Tina asked, "So, what do you say?"

Steve and Danny met each other's eyes again and shrugged. Then, Steve rose from his chair to the front of his desk. He crossed his arms and sat with one leg propped on the top of the desk and said, "Tina, we're flattered by your offer but, why us? Wouldn't you rather take the time to get to know a family first before making a decision like this?"

Tina chuckled, softly, and leaned back against the couch. "Unfortunately, Commander, time is something I don't have a lot of," she shrugged, firmly, as if she'd already accepted her fate. When she saw the remaining hesitation on their faces, she leaned forward, again, and said, "Look, I wouldn't be coming to you if I didn't think you were the right choice, believe me. I'm making this decision while I still have the wherewithal to make it. And, believe me, I've battled with the pros and cons of having my babies raised by two cops, knowing you both could be taken out in the line of duty. But the way you took so much care into Marcus' death by coming to tell me yourselves, showed me how much you two care about your job. And, if you put that amount of heart into your work, I know you'd do the same for my babies." Steve and Danny turned to each other, again; were they really about to become dads to this woman's children? "Please?" Tina asked, almost begging. "I know it's a lot to ask but I only have maybe four months left and then they'll be taken by the state. I can't leave knowing they'll be put into the system and torn apart."

Steve and Danny silently confirmed with each other that they were going to go through with this. Then, Steve turned back to Tina and smiled. "Where do we sign?"

*******************

AUGUST

And so it began.

In just a few short months, Steve and Danny were about to be dads; were they ready for this? Suddenly, the sunrays gave Danny a brand new warmth every morning. Even though he didn't have the children yet—the papers were signed but the courts said Tina kept custody until she passed—just knowing they'd soon be coming gave a brand new beauty to their shine that even being married to his best friend didn't bring. Danny stretched awake, sitting up on the bed, smiling. He got up and, sliding his way to the bathroom, scratched his head, knowing it was he had to have some regrets about this. But he just couldn't think of a reason not to love the idea of having more children; he already loved the ones he had, so what's two more? But, as he got to the bathroom, and failed to lift the toilet seat, he remembered the one thing he hated about this adoption: Steve. He looked down at the baby-proof locks and sighed, in frustration, "Steven!"

Ever since they signed the papers, Steve had gone into protective mode baby proofing the entire house. Even though the twins were three and very well behaved, Steve had turned into Eagle Eye, finding some kind of danger in every nook and cranny of their house. Danny tried to ease the panic by providing Steve with a list of the same safety precautions he had used for Grace and Charlie but thar only caused Steve to find more problems with his aging house. Danny was sure he'd have to call EMS a few nights back when he found Steve nearly having a stroke about their old tiles in the kitchen. Danny was only able to get him into bed when he promised Steve they'd get new ones, even though he was sure the ones being replaced couldn't be more than 10 years old.

Even during visits where Tina spent the day at the house, she would even try to let Steve know that the twins were mostly independent and only a few changes needed to be made to the house. But every day there was something new added to the house. And things only got worse when she left the twins for daily visits without her because Steve felt there were no longer enough eyes on them and brought in Eddie to be their guard dog.

It had only been four weeks but Danny had already had enough. And, battled with the baby gates on the stairs, he knew he had to do something about this new side of Steve.

Danny finally spotted Steve, outside on the lanai, laying on his belly, screwing down the final pieces of a picket fence. Danny shook his head and moved to open the backdoor. When it jammed, Danny looked down and found another one of Steve's baby locks. He sighed and banged on the door to get Steve's attention. "Steven!" he called out, slamming on the glass.

Steve looked up and turned towards Danny, gesturing at the door. Steve shrugged and said, "You have to push the two buttons on the sides," he instructed, loudly.

Danny rolled his eyes and, after a few attempts, finally got the door open. Then, he huffed outside and stood over Steve, gesturing back to the house, wildly. "This has to stop, Steve," he begged. "I can't be a prisoner in my own home. You have to let up on the baby proofing. It's gotten out of hand."

"What are you talking about?" Steve asked. "I haven't done that much."

"Last time they came over, you stood guard in the dining room while they ate lunch," Danny reminded, crossing his arms.

"They're only three, Danny," Steve said, defensively.

"Yes, I know. But their mother was sitting right beside them," Danny said, raising his eyebrows.

Steve thought for a moment of all the overhauls he'd made to the house in the last four weeks and sighed, a bit defeated, after realizing that he'd let his protective tendencies get the better of him. "Maybe you're right," he said, moving to Danny's side. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad letting them get a little messy."

"Don't get me wrong, I love that you want them safe," Danny urged. "Please don't start giving them grenades as presents just because I said to lighten up. They can have a few gates, and locks here and there. But there is such a thing as being too protective of your children."

Steve put his hands on his hips and smirked. "You mean, like when you pinged Gracie's phone because you found out she had a boyfriend?" he asked, playfully.

Danny raised his hand in the air, defensively. "That's different and you know it, Steven." Steve nodded, squinting from the sunlight, and reached out, pulling Danny in for a hug. Danny smiled, cheekily, folding into Steve's grasp.

****************

SEPTEMBER

For the last two weeks of the month, Bailey and Colton would be staying with Danny and Steve. When they set up the schedule, Tina was skeptical. This was the longest she had been away from them and she didn't really want to go back to an empty house. Steve and Danny understood her hesitation but assured her that everything be okay and that this would be a good transition for the twins down the line. Tina agreed.

Steve and Danny were excited because tonight was the first night that the twins would be staying over. They had completely remodeled the spare bedroom—Camouflage on the left, for Colton; Mermaids on the right, for Bailey—and readied the rest of the house for their arrival. They paced the living room, too eager to sit still, and met each other's eyes when heard the rumble of Tina's car outside. They ran outside and met the family on the front lawn, kneeling down with open arms. Bailey ran into Danny's arms, Colton into Steve's, and they all squeezed each other tight. Steve and Danny rejoiced, giving a million kisses to the twins on their cheeks.

Tina smiled. "I'll send a text daily to check-in," she said, apprehensively, handing a training potty to Steve.

"Tina, relax, they'll be fine," Danny assured, taking the Twin's overnight bags from her hands. "We've got eyes all over this island."

"Danny's right," Steve nodded, bouncing Colton on his hip. "You've got nothing to worry about. Go pamper yourself, sleep in, or whatever you want to do. We'll see you in two weeks. They'll be fine, I promise."

Tina nodded and took a deep breath. "You're sure you can handle everything?" she asked, a bit more confident.

Steve and Danny nodded, in sync. "We're sure."

About an hour later, as they were cleaning up after dinner, Steve noticed Colton acting strangely, While reading his book about trucks, Colton kept wiggling in place. And every so often, he would put his hands between his thighs and press them tight together. When he would stand up to grab a toy, he would sway from one foot to the other before actually picking up his toy. Steve didn't think anything of this at first. But, as the behavior continued, he gestured for Danny to watch Colton, as he had dealt with toddlers before. Danny stopped and observed the toddler from afar, for a moment. Then, smiled, realizing what was going on with the boy, and went to try and remedy the situation. Steve studied Danny's lesson closely. Danny knelt beside Colton and smiled. "Hey Champ, do you have to go potty?" he asked, gently.

"No," Colton replied, still wiggling in place.

"You sure?" Danny asked. "Because it seems like you need to."

"No, I don't," Colton said. He went to choose another toy but stopped to sway from one foot to the other, again, before actually grabbing it.

"Let me try," Steve said, tapping Danny on the shoulder. Danny shrugged and gestured towards the wiggly toddler. Steve sat on the couch and patted his lap, calling for Colton. When Colton came to him, Steve sat the boy on his knee and smiled at him. "You know, buddy, it's okay if you need to use the potty. I can take you up if you need to go," Steve said, delicately.

"No, I don't hab to go," Colton said, a bit fussy. Steve looked to Danny, who shrugged, as if to say, 'I told you so.' Steve rolled his eyes and sighed. Then, he said, softly, "Alright, go play," letting Colton go free.

"At least you tried," Danny shrugged, again.

"He clearly has to go. Why is he being stubborn?" Steve asked, a bit defeated.

"Maybe he takes after you?" Danny joked, leaning back on his hands.

"Oh you're funny," Steve huffed, leaning back against the couch, locking his eyes on the toddler.

******

As they prepared for bed, Steve and Danny continued to take turns asking Colton if he needed to go. But, no matter who asked him, or how they asked the question, Colton denied needing to go. After the sixth prompt before tucking him into bed, Steve wasn't even sure it was the potty-dance anymore. Danny assured him it was, as Grace and Charlie both did the same thing when they were potty-training. "But, if it is, why isn't Bailey doing it? She's been here just as long and hasn't even made one hint about it," Steve quizzed Danny, as they settled into bed.

"I don't know," Danny sighed through a yawn. "Every kid is different. I'm sure we'll figure out her cues in no time." Steve nodded, cuddling into Danny, and the pair went to sleep.

But it didn't last long.

About an hour later, Steve jerked awake, when he heard something creep into the room. He squinted his eyes, trying to get them to dark-adjust, and wrinkled his brow when he noticed Bailey hovering over him. "Bailey?" he said, still trying to wake up. "You alright baby? Did you have a bad dream?" Bailey shook her head 'no' but her face was still full of discomfort. Steve grew concerned. He turned on his side and sat up on his elbow, reaching out his other hand to comfort Bailey. That's when he felt her swaying and noticed her hands stuffed in between her tightened, trembling thighs. Immediately realizing what this was, he sat up on the edge of the bed and caressed Bailey's face, gently, "Wait, you need to go don't you?" Bailey shook her head, urgently.

Danny heard the commotion and rolled over, facing Steve's side of the bed. "What's going on?" he asked, sluggishly.

"I figured out Bailey's cue," Steve said, softly, smiling at Bailey. He, quickly, swooped up the jittery toddler into his arms and rubbed her back, comfortingly.

"What? That's great," Danny replied, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Need my help?"

"I've got this one. Why don't you check on Colton?" Steve said, softly, hurrying out of the bedroom with Bailey. After taking a moment to fully wake up, that's exactly what Danny did. He made his way to the twin's bedroom and snuck inside. He chuckled, when he spotted Colton's blankets in a jumbled mess on the floor beside his bed. Danny knelt down to fix the blankets. He squinted his eyes, in disgust, when he caught a whiff of their soiled aroma and let out a hopeless sigh as he felt the dampened mattress under Colton's legs. Steve entered, quietly, a few moments later, returning Bailey to her bed. "Made it just in time," he praised, high-fiving Bailey as he tucked her in.

"Not so lucky over here," Danny informed, softly. Steve shook his head, regretfully, as he finished tucking Bailey in. Behind him, Danny woke Colton. "Hey, buddy, we've got to clean you up," he whispered, shaking the boy gently.

Colton stirred awake and looked up at Danny with saddened eyes. "I'm sawee, Danno..." he frowned, rising into Danny's embrace.

Danny sighed, regretfully, patting Colton's back. "Let's just get you cleaned up," he said, apologetically, lifting the toddler into his arms. He stood and made his way towards the door, meeting Steve's eyes.

"I'll clean up in here," Steve informed, calling after him.

"Love you," Danny called back, thankfully, as he disappeared into the hallway.

As Steve went to clean up Colton's mishap, he suddenly realized that this was going to be a long two weeks and that maybe—just maybe—he and Danny had become a bit too confident, a bit too soon. And, a short time later, when he found himself on his hands and knees, scrubbing away at the plastic mattress with a soapy rag, he thought maybe—just maybe—getting a check-in text from Tina didn't sound so bad after all.

***********

OCTOBER

Danny and Steve had become very close to Tina and twins over the last few months. They had never taken an interest in their victim's life like this before. And, even after making multiple house-calls, catching hundreds of criminals, and going to multiple crime scenes over the last few months, they had yet to find another victim's family they connected with like this; almost as if fate had brought them together. Like they were meant to discover Marcus' body, so they were supposed to discover Tina was dying because she was destined to come to them about adoption. At least, that was Danny's way of seeing it. Steve was much more realistic and knew that they had just gotten lucky.

But, whatever the case, the pair enjoyed all the time they were getting to bond with the twins. And they made sure to spend time with them any time they were able to get out of the office. Just like today, when Tina invited them over for dinner and a movie. This was the first Halloween, in a long time, that the partners hadn't been called away to solve a case and they had planned to make the best of it. After dinner, Steve and Danny helped put the twins to sleep before joining Tina in the living room for a scary movie. But the movie didn't even get to the good part before Danny had passed out on the couch beside Steve. Tina and Steve laughed, softly, at Danny's stuffy snoring before shutting off the movie and turning to a photo album instead.

Tina sat on the floor, beside the coffee table, and pulled out a picture from when she was pregnant. "Do you know how much of a process IVF is?" she asked, softly, handing the picture to Steve. Steve leaned over, shaking his head 'no', and took the picture, smiling as he saw her long, flowing red hair; now he knew where the twins had gotten theirs from. "I wasn't even supposed to be able to have children, let alone two," she continued, looking through the rest of the album. Steve looked over her shoulder, appreciating the history of the Wilder's. "We tried six different times to get pregnant before one finally took. You know, when we found out I was pregnant, we thought it was a joke?" Steve chuckled at that. "No, it's true," Tina smiled, taking the picture back from Steve. She flipped to another page and continued her story. "We didn't even tell anyone until I was six months along because we were so worried they weren't going to make it, just like all the other times. And, once they were here, Marcus and I made them a promise that we would always protect them and keep them together, no matter what." She stopped and took in a shaky breath, lightly brushing a picture of her and Marcus, in the hospital, holding the newborn twins, and kissing. "We worked so hard to bring them into this world. And now, neither of us even get to watch them grow up." Her voice faded out, as tears filled her eyes.

Steve put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Have you talked to them about it?" he asked, gently.

"A little," Tina nodded, drying the tears from her cheeks with her thumb. "I told them that Mommy is going to have to go visit Daddy for a while and that they'll be coming to stay with you and Danny until we come back. But I'm not sure if they fully understand the fact that we won't be coming back, you know?" Tina ignored her new tears as she flipped to the next page. This one only had two pictures on it: A copy of the same picture Marcus had in his wallet and one of the family from the twin's third birthday party. Tina's tears dropped from her cheek and soaked into the page beside the birthday picture. Tina's voice broke, as she stared at the picture and said, "I don't know what hurts worse. The fact that they don't really understand, or the fact that I'm glad that they don't understand." She buried her face into her fist and broke down. Steve's heart broke, listening to her sob. He slid off the couch, stealthy, as not to disrupt Danny, and sat on the floor behind Tina. Steve wrapped his arms around her torso, and his legs around her legs, softly 'shushing' her. Tina wrapped her arms around Steve's and continued to gasp for air, through her tears. Steve squeezed her tight, resting his head on her shoulder and slowly rocking her, back and forth. "Why me, Steve?" she mumbled, crying against Steve's forearm.

Steve's heart sunk to his stomach, hearing that question. Speechless, he closed his eyes and squeezed Tina as hard as he could. He wasn't sure if that was rhetorical but there was no way he could answer that question. He didn't know why the universe had done this to their family. Even if it was a result of Danny's fate theory, Steve couldn't answer that question even if he wanted to. So, he just held Tina and let her cry until her tear ducts ran dry.

But it was, at that moment, when Steve realized that this was the first time Tina had actually grasped the reality of what the doctors had told her. And, as he felt her tears soak into his skin, he wished for nothing more than for his hugs to change the course of that reality—to keep her around for a just a few more months because she clearly wasn't ready to let go yet—even if that meant he had to wait on getting custody of the twins a bit longer.

*********

NOVEMBER

Steve and Danny ended up spending Halloween night at Tina's but, while Danny stayed passed out on the couch, Steve couldn't sleep. He was too worked up over the question Tina had asked him and he couldn't get the image of her sobbing out of his mind. And, he could still feel the cold, spots of where she had wiped her tears, still drying on the hairs of his arm. Steve wanted to tell Danny about last night but, when he tried to explain what happened, the visions of Tina's bloodshot eyes silenced him.

Steve knew he didn't have the power to take away Tina's pain or to extend what little amount of time she had left before her sickness became too much to handle. But he did know that he had the power to give her some more time with her babies, even if that meant keeping them away from Danny.

So, for as long as he could, Steve was determined to keep Danny busy, so that there was no free time to go see the twins. And, luckily, being in command of the Governor's Task Force of Hawai'i gave him the power to do such a thing. Even though it gave him a heavy heart keeping Danny away from the twins, deep down, Steve knew he was doing the right thing and Danny would come to forgive him later.

********

A WEEK LATER

Danny had taken Charlie camping for the week, leaving Steve home alone with his thoughts. And, as much as he tried to distract himself with work, his mind couldn't stop thinking about Tina. He had not heard from her in four days and could feel something was wrong. And that feeling only intensified when he heard his phone buzz on the table beside him. He read the screen and saw that it was Tina. He smiled and answered, "Hey, Tina, I haven't heard from you. Is everything okay?"

But the voice on the other end wasn't Tina. It was a nurse at Kings Medical Center. "Steve McGarrett?" she asked, regretfully.

Steve's voice grew quiet. "Yes. Is everything okay? Where's Tina?"

"She's asking to see you," the nurse replied. Steve's eyes widened and he immediately hung up the phone.

Steve raced over to Kings Medical, where the doctor told him that Tina had come to the ER last night, where they had discovered her tumors had spread, tremendously. Her organs were shutting down and that she was in a great deal of pain. Steve stood in the doorway, he half-listened to the doctor and put more of his focus on Tina. As he watched her sleep, through the crack in the door, he knew that it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to her illness but refused to let her go through these last few days alone. He just wished Danny was there with him to say goodbye.

********

The next morning, Steve woke up at the hospital, sharing a guest cot with the two sleeping red-headed babies, curled up beside him. Steve admired them for a moment, then, turned to check on Tina. He rose from the bed, stealthy, trying not to disturb the twins, and pulled up a chair to Tina's bedside. As he sat down, Steve saw she was still sleeping but had turned into a stranger overnight. Her face had become so pale it seemed as though she had no blood flowing to it. Her lips were cracked and bleeding and her under eyes looked bruised from exhaustion. And her hands were so thin, Steve hesitated to hold one, for fear of hurting her. The beeps and clicks of her many machines echoed off the walls of her single room, like dome directional speakers, completely filled Steve's heart with sorrow.

After a moment of self-debate, Steve finally decided to take Tina's delicate hand in his and gave a corner smile as he caressed slender face. A smile spread along Tina's face as she felt the warm touch of Steve's hand down her cheek. Her eyes flickered open and she, stiffly, turned her head towards him. "You came," she said, hoarsely.

Steve smiled even though he wanted to cry. "Of course I came. You didn't think I'd let you do this alone did you?"

Tina chuckled through her nose. She scoped the room with her eyes and frowned. "Where's Danny?"

"He's camping with his son for the week," Steve informed, regretfully. "I'm sorry he couldn't make it."

Tina placed her other hand on top of the one Steve was using to comfort her and smiled, "He didn't know. It would be selfish of me to be mad at him for not being here." Tina nodded and let out a painfully upsetting cough that made Steve hover his hand over the nurses' call button. Then, she relaxed against her pillow and sighed, meeting Steve's eyes. "But I'm glad you're here, Steve," she smiled, squeezing his hand, lightly. "Thank you for taking care of my babies."

"I know I speak for Danny too when I say, thank you for trusting us to care for them," Steve smiled back.

Tina smiled, pulling her top hand away from Steve's, and nodded. "You two have something special, just as Marcus and I did. I know my babies will be loved and protected in your family." Tina adjusted on the bed and swallowed hard, licking her dry lips. Then, she said, softly, " I just need you to promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Promise me...promise that my babies will know who their mom and dad were?" Tina asked, her eyes welling up. "And that you'll remind them just how much we loved them. And that we will always be watching over them, every day."

Steve tightened his grip as he felt Tina's fade and nodded, quickly. "I promise," he said, assuring. "We will never let them forget how much you two loved them and what you did for them. I promise." He gripped her hand, tighter, to lock in his promise.

Tina looked up at him and smiled with her eyes. She gave him a slow, thankful, nod, and closed her eyes, resting her head against the pillow. Steve leaned against the safety bar of the bed and closed his eyes, he had Danny to comfort him. He fought back tears, caressing Tina's hand in his, knowing that was the last thing he'd get to say to her.

***********

An hour later, Steve arrived home and put the car in park. He looked into his rearview mirror and smiled at the sleeping three-year-old redheads, in their car seats. Their heads were cocked sideways, in strange positions, and their mouths were hung wide open. Steve's heart melted as he stared at them, in awe, thankful that he was finally able to call them his own.

He exited the car and woke up each toddler, one-by-one. First, Bailey, his little princess, who let out a big yawn as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Then, he went over to Colton, his mini-me, and carried him like a backpack. Steve shut the door with his hip, then, made his way towards the house, bouncing the twins at his side. "Are we ready to see Danno?" he asked, softly, as they reached the front door. The twins gave a synchronized nod, still half-asleep. Steve chuckled and opened the door.

Danny on the living room couch startled him so much he almost dropped the twins. "Hey, babe!" he said, surprised. "What are you doing here? Weren't you camping with Charlie this week?"

"Change of plans," Danny explained, glaring at Steve. "Somehow, Charlie picked up a parasite from the water while he was swimming and we had to come back early."

"Oh, man, is he alright?" Steve asked, struggling to unlock the baby gate with one hand.

"He'll be fine," Danny nodded, moving to help Steve with the safety lock. He ran upstairs, quickly, unlocked the other baby gate, and came back down, taking Bailey from Steve. The pair climbed to the bedroom and tucked in the twins. Then, the made their way into their own bedroom and readied themselves for bed. "But, when I got service back, I received an urgent message from Tina in the hospital." Danny continued, changing into nightclothes. "Except when I got there, she was nowhere to be found and now you're here with the twins. So, you want to tell me what's going on?" Steve froze for a moment. Then, sat on the edge of the bed, defeated. Danny turned to face him. "Steve?" he asked, a bit concerned.

"I've been making up reasons to keep you busy so Tina got more time with the twins," Steve admitted, unable to meet Danny's eyes. "On Halloween night, while you were sleeping, she confessed to me that she didn't know why the world was out to get her and taking her away from her babies and I didn't know what to do except give her more time with her babies while she still had the chance."

Danny wrinkled his brow. "Why would you do that without me? Without even telling me about it? Huh? Am I not your husband? Why keep secrets from me?"

"It's not like that," Steve explained. "I didn't want to make this your problem, Danny. If you had seen the pain she was feeling that night—"

Danny waved his arms wildly, interrupting him. "No, no, that was not your decision to make, Steven. I am your husband and the future father of her children, am I not? Something like that is not just something you carry around on your shoulders, I'm supposed to carry it too!" He held up his hand and pointed to his wedding ring and said, sternly, "You promised me we would always be a team, which means your problems are also my problems! We're in this together still, aren't we?"

Steve looked to the floor, regretfully. "Of course we are, Danny. I'm sorry."

Danny dropped his hand to his side and then, sat on the bed beside Steve. "So, if they're here then that means that she did--?"

"An hour ago," Steve sighed, taking a seat beside Danny. "I think I cried more than they did."

Danny took Steve's hand in his and linked their fingers together. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

Steve pulled Danny closer, wrapping an arm around him. "And I'm sorry you weren't able to see her before she passed."

"Don't apologize," Danny said, playing with Steve's fingers. "If the Navy SEAL wasn't able to keep his emotions under wraps, I would have been a complete wreck." Steve chuckled, resting his face into Danny's locks. "So..." Danny said with a long breath, "...are you sure we're ready for this?"

"I know you are, you're a natural with them. And you've had kids. It's me I'm worried about," Steve shrugged, pulling Danny's legs onto his lap. "There was only so much those house visits could teach me. I don't know if I'm ready for this whole 'being a dad' thing yet."

Danny smiled, proudly, wrapping his arms around Steve's neck, and said, softly, "Well, uh, don't let this go to your head or anything but, uh, I think you're going to be a great dad."

"Oh yeah?" Steve asked, pulling Danny's legs onto his lap. "Well, I did learn from the best," he smiled, leaning into Danny's lips with a kiss. Danny closed his eyes, drowning in Steve's embrace, as the pair fell back onto the bed.

They, quickly, rose to passion, until it was interrupted by a tiny voice from down the hall. "Danno?!" Colton cried out, urgently. "I gotta go poddy."

Steve pulled up from Danny's lips and fell onto the bed, rolling his eyes. "Really, now?"

"I told you he takes after you," Danny joked, playfully, giving a quick kiss to Steve's bare chest. Then, he rose from the bed and hurried down the hallway, calling out to Colton. "Danno's comin' Champ."

As Steve waited for Danny to return, he stared at the ceiling, wondering how he'd become so blessed. Then, he looked to his side table and spotted the framed picture of the twins birthday party Tina had gifted him, and felt a thankful smile come over him. "We'll do our best," he promised, softly, meeting Tina's eyes, before his own slammed closed from exhaustion.

~*~

**Author's Note:**

> Ps. I will be moving these into a "series" collection shortly. It's just 4 am and I'm too tired to do all of that right now. I just wanted to get this posted because I know you've been waiting for it (and/or the updated version!)! I hope those of you that read/enjoyed my previous edition of this story will still be pleased with this one. :-)


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